Global capitalism,Haiti, and the flexibilisation of paramilitarism

This paper looks at the shifting manner in which paramilitarism has been reproduced in Haiti, examining how it has evolved from the Cold War into the era of capitalist globalisation. The central argument of this article is that paramilitarism has not disappeared but has been altered, and that this has occurred in part due to the changing strategies of elites in the global era. Rather than a permanent and widespread force, paramilitary groups are utilised in smaller numbers and only in certain ‘emergency periods’, serving a purpose of containment: targeting political threats and beating down those large populations whose social reproduction is not required by transnational capital. This has been a difficult situation for elites to manage, as they often have only limited control over such ruthless, corrupt and violent elements, which they sometimes require. Following the 1991 and 2004 coup d’états in Haiti, a military–paramilitary–bourgeoisie grouping has repeatedly worked to recover its impunity and revamp its coercive apparatus. Under these conditions, and even more increasingly in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, a variety of elites and technocrats (most importantly, US policymakers) have sought to politically remake the country alongside processes of economic restructuring promoted by transnational capital.     

Self-protection in Greece: sticking with groups,communicating, protesting,and fighting

Despite the international community’s responsibility to protect (R2P) mandate, we are years away from effective international enforcement mechanisms. It is therefore important that we better understand and seek to support local capacities for self-protection. Migrants and refugees in Greece have shown us four central ways they cope with insecure environments. They stick together in groups, communicate warnings of danger, protest when conditions are threatening, and fight when all else fails. This practical note offers three recommendations on how to support the capacity of displaced people to protect themselves.     

Challenges and lessons learnt from a sanitation project in rural Bolivia

The University of Arizona chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA has faced multiple challenges involving community participation in rural development, in the Andean community of Marquirivi, Bolivia, both in rural design and in community participation. Despite successful construction of a shower house in 2014, the EWB-USA UA team experience with community participation revealed the numerous complexities involved in engaging successfully with communities. The importance of previous aid in a community with development projects also emerged as critical in shaping actions. This article discusses lessons learnt and recommendations for rural infrastructure projects, as well as the EWB-USA model of sustainable development.     

The Prisoner Dilemma: Britain,Germany, and the Repatriation of Indian Prisoners of War

Abstract

Between October 1914 and December 1915, nearly 135,000 Indian riflemen—known as sepoys—fought in the trenches of France and Belgium at the battles of Ypres, Festubert, Givenchy, Neuve Chapelle, Second Ypres and Loos, suffering some 34,252 casualties. At a prisoner of war camp outside Berlin, Indian revolutionaries and emissaries from the Ottoman Empire attempted to convert the allegiances of the sepoys in their custody with a combination of pan-Islamic and nationalist appeals. Although this campaign ultimately failed, it profoundly shaped British repatriation policy at the end of the war when, cautioned Secretary of State for India Austen Chamberlain, the British could not allow men who had been exposed to ‘strongly hostile influences’ to return home unmonitored. The 1918 armistice and British repatriation policy therefore presented a host of new challenges to Britain’s colonial subjects from South Asia as they navigated the post-war imperial landscape and secured what was most important to them—safe transportation home.     

Head versus heart: The ambiguities of non-sovereignty in the Dutch Caribbean

Whereas political scientists tend to make binary distinctions between sovereign states and subnational units, in recent decades the number of a third, hybrid category of federacies or non-sovereign jurisdictions has strongly increased. In this paper, we explore the benefits and downsides of non-sovereignty from the perspective of these territories’ inhabitants. We zoom in on the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean, which in 2010 experienced a profound change in their political status. Using data from two large-scale opinion surveys that we conducted in 1998 and 2015, respectively, we show that the population of the Dutch Caribbean islands maintains a highly ambiguous attitude towards the non-sovereign status. While many respondents appreciate the material benefits of the enduring link with the metropolis, there are significant emotional and ideational objections to this relationship. These findings are embedded in broader scholarly discussions about the position of decentralized and peripheral jurisdictions vis-à-vis their administrative core.     

The historical contribution of faith-based health providers in the Ecuadorian health system: an overview of the evidence

ABSTRACT

Faith-based health providers (FBHPs) have historically shaped the national health system in Ecuador, yet there is little robust evidence of this role, or their current contribution to the national health system. This article situates FBHPs in the Ecuadorian health system, using secondary analyses of national health surveys to consider changes in contribution from 1998 to 2014, and synthesising this with secondary literature. The research confirms the important role that FBHPs have historically played in Ecuador, but also shows that their current role needs to be better understood if universalisation of health service coverage is to be achieved.     

How social capital enables or restricts the livelihoods of poor peri-urban farmers in Mexico

Poor farmers in peri-urban territories are subjected to the gradual transmutation of their livelihoods while they try to escape from poverty and adapt to an increasingly urban environment. Social capital seems to influence the outcomes of such livelihoods, and might expand chances and choices to improve poverty status, but also to follow their own paths. This article explores the mechanisms through which this capital enables or restricts such livelihoods in two peripheral municipalities in Mexico. The findings highlight the importance of informal institutional and non-institutional mechanisms in regulating access to, and distribution of, resources in peri-urban territories.     

Fostering uptake: lessons from climate change vulnerability assessments in Africa and Latin America

Findings from climate change vulnerability assessments can inform decision-makers in their evaluation of options to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Certain attributes of an assessment can improve the use or uptake of its results. The science policy literature describes three characteristics – credibility, salience, and legitimacy – as being necessary for the uptake of scientific results for decision-making. We draw from the experiences of eight climate change vulnerability assessments conducted in Africa and Latin America for USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to explore the practical application of these three characteristics to fostering uptake of the assessment results.     

破解西部民族地区教育与经济发展低水平均衡——以黔东南州为例

由于历史等方面原因,西部民族地区教育与经济发展长期处于低水平均衡状态,即“经济不发达——教育落后——人才匮乏——经济不发达”的恶性循环。破解这一低水平均衡陷阱,必须使“教育”成为内生变量并发生聚变,即坚持教育优先发展,提升教育对经济社会发展的功能性价值。强力支持西部民族地区优先发展教育,造就足够的人力资源,推动教育与经济发展达到更高层次的均衡水平,是统筹区域发展和实施西部大开发战略的重要内容,对西部民族地区发展具有“造血”意义。     

新时代协商治理:内在机理与基本立场

当前,学界仍然需要对“治理”做中国情境的整全性探讨以克服现有研究中存在的碎片化倾向。要树立规避低水平重复研究的学术立场,特别要进一步深化对新时代中国协商治理之本土化因素及其核心指归的梳理,凝练基于学术的中国协商治理之基本指导的理论精义,建构一种适应性的本土概念与理论体系,探索底线性的协商治理理解是学术研究的基本使命。基于此,以什么形式实践协商治理,应交由党领导人民去完成。同时,要科学把握西方治理嬗变、理论适用性及其困境,科学认识治理中国方案的定位、中西方治理的本质差异及其体现。对协商治理的理论与实践及其超越性之内在机理的研究,是解释与建构的尝试,是对情境的宏观考量,亦是阐明研究立场与实践立场的过程。